The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 319

"It" -J' iL ijf I j- if 'Hi" iyr i j- fey r( in THURSDAY APRIL 5 1990 4U THE MIAMI HERALD BASEBALL REPORT affects everything I he said put weight on it or rotate my hips: properly" if The Orioles have ventured further-into the international arena by signing pitcher John Boothby a 6-foot-4 220-pound" right-hander from the Brisbane Bandits' Baseball Club in Australia Boothby 23 signed a Wausau (Class A) contract and will play for manager Mike' Young a former Brisbane player-manager and the Australian scout Robinson said that he wanted to finish Tuesday's exhibition game called after' 52 innings because "we need the at- bats it was no sense kidding ourselves that that field was in playing shape We got just about what we needed anyway It was better than losing a complete By KENT BAKER The Baltimore Sun Mike Brumley saw it coming Francisco Melendez had nothing to say And Eric Bell surprised Those were the reactions Tuesday when the Baltimore Orioles asked waivers on Brumley and Melendez in order to release them unconditionally and optioned Bell to Rochester to continue his comeback hard to said Brumley acquired from Detroit in a trade for Larry Sheets in January a short spring I get an opportunity at all they (the Orioles) were trying to protect themselves in case Billy (Ripken) all right You make deals to try to cover Manager Frank Robinson said that no spot existed for Brumley because the other shortened spring But I feel on my way He had elbow surgery in 1988 after leading the Orioles with 10 wins the previous season only thing he needs is to Robinson said Williamson injured Mark sore left buttock was better Tuesday but there is still a chance that he could be on the disabled list Opening Day never really hurt a muscle in that Williamson said this is frustrating If I had hurt my arm I could deal with it a lot The Orioles will reserve a decision on Williamson until at least Friday when he is scheduled to throw again candidates for utility positions were little of him He was not concerned about the flak that might result because of an already-unpopu-lar trade work out So Robinson said subtraction is better than having guys Brumley hit only 198 for the Tigers last year was l-for-7 this spring and committed two errors in four games Melendez was another story He had a legitimate chance to fill the role handled by Jim Traber last year but was not impressive probably lost the spot by not Robinson said just feel we have other people Melendez said: "I feel like I want to talk no longer a baseball His departure leaves the team with only five left-handed hitters two who switch (Mickey Tettleton and Stan Jefferson) and one who has an injured shoulder (Brady Anderson) So the Orioles are shopping the waiver wire and looking into potential trades come up with Robinson said looking for somebody who can help us with the That man could be Sam Horn who has been blistering the ball this spring with Rochester but is at home after his mother suffered a stroke a Robinson said Bell pitched in two games this spring allowing three runs in one inning just want me to go down and get some he said figured be back in Rochester especially after the SPRING-TRAINING NOTEBOOK Robidoux makes Red Sox team Buckner may be cut pitching still unproven BySEANHORGAN The Hartford Courant WINTER HAVEN Fla On a day when the Boston Red Sox began to sort out their first-base dilemma the pitching situation unraveled even more Manager Joe Morgan said Tuesday that Billy Jo Robidoux will be one of his first basemen when the team opens the season Monday in Boston not saying got the job but he has made the club" Morgan said after the Minnesota Twins defeated the Red Sox 6-4 at Chain Lakes Park got himself a big hit Tuesday and hit the ball well all Morgan is becoming frustrated in his search for a fourth starter one has stepped up yet for Morgan said Eric Hetzel one of the candidates started and lost against the Twins He gave up three runs on five hits in four innings struck out two and walked none The numbers may not show it but the Twins hit him very hard guess he pitched all Morgan said longer he pitched the better he got" Robidoux went l-for-2 raising his spring training average to 269 (7-for-26) His two-run double in the first inning gives him six RBI to go with two homers Morgan said it is likely that Robidoux will platoon at first with Carlos Quintana (160 0 home runs 0 RBI) Naehring who had two hits Tuesday and made an outstanding defensive play at third wa? returned to Pawtucket along with pitchers Joe Johnson and Steve Curry infielders Scott Coopec and Angel Gonzalez and outfielder Mickey Pina want all of those kids to play every Morgan said would I play Naehring if I kept him? Anyway not going to be in Pawtucket long a Naehring and Pma were two of the Red more pleasant surprises in camp Naehring 23 hit 385 with three home runs and four RBI Pina 24 slumped recently but still hit 296 (8-for-27) with one home run and four RBI Depending on the status of Dwight Evans who is suffering back problems Pina could be in Boston before the season is too old The Red Sox released Charlie Puleo who was ineffective in his bid to fill the ever-widening void in the Red rotation Puleo gave up 12 hits and six runs in two appearances totaling five innings a lofty 1080 ERA performance Tuesday followed average displays by Wes Gardner Tom Bolton and Mike Rochford Monday In the past two days that foursome has pitched 13 innings allowed 11 runs (all earned) on 17 hits walked five and struck out six They have a collective 762 ERA Rookie Dana Kiecker another candidate is scheduled to pitch Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals think a great Robidoux said know there are some left-handers that will give me trouble and there are some right-handers that will give Quintana Robidoux learned that he had made the team after a players meeting When asked if management had told him of its plans Robidoux said but I think I did what I was supposed to do I played good solid baseball and was rewarded told me I had a chance to make the team if I Robidoux said needed to impress somebody and I The Red Sox signed Robidoux a minor league free agent in December Last year he split time between the Chicago White Sox (128 0 HR one RBI in 16 games) and Triple-A Vancouver (317 11 HR 42 RBI in 73 games) Before joining the White Sox he spent four years with the Milwaukee Brewers and their farm system Morgan said that competition for first base still includes Bill Buckner but Buckner has not played his way onto the team He also said that play is one of the reasons spring sensation Tim Naehring will start the season in Triple-A Developer tries to lure Rangers A real estate broker has proposed a new home for the Texas Rangers in west Dallas as part of a complex that also might feature football basketball horse racing and auto racing The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Tuesday Don Shackelford of Arlington said Prime Sports Partners Ltd plans to build a sports complex on 1017 acres about 10 miles east of Arlington Stadium the current home The site is about seven miles west of downtown Dallas and about five miles south of Texas Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play in suburban Irving Arlington Mayor Richard Greena who has led an effort to keep the Rangers in Arlington dismissed announcement as real estate speculator who is hyping his Ted Willis president of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce called it adding would think the Rangers would be more interested in Florida swamp land than this deal" Rangers owners have said Arlington Stadium is inadequate and have been listening to alternatives Rick Horrow president of the Senior Professional Baseball Association was named commissioner of the league succeeding exmajor leaguer Curt Flood Jim Morley who conceived the idea of senior baseball was named president and Rick Remmert was promoted from executive director to vice president GRAPEFRUIT REPORT 2 Mets are odd men out Davey Johnson solved the on the New York Mets by relegating two of his most popular players to lesser jobs: Bob Ojeda to the bullpen Dave Magadan to the bench And both players admitted they were devastated by the moves Ojeda a 32-year-old left-hander and the senior player on the team lost his job because he was one of six accomplished starting pitchers competing for jobs in a five-man rotation The manager of the Mets said the switch to the bullpen was temporary but he had no ultimate solution to the of six starters and conceded: 0 becomes the swing Magadan a left-handed hitter who waited three years to inherit the job at first base thought he had finally made it last October when the Mets did not renew the contract of Keith Hernandez But two months later they traded Juan Samuel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Marshall a home-run-hitting first baseman and outfielder "And Magadan said when I felt betrayed" John Kruk should have no trouble hitting his weight this year The 29-year-old left fielder showed up looking more like an ad for a health club than the fat man at the circus had my right knee operated on twice last year" said the formerly portly player "I knew that I couldn't carry around that extra weight So I went in there and lost weight and strengthened my legs" Kruk hit 331 with the Phillies after being acquired in a deal last June from San Diego The Cincinnati Reds acquired outfielder Billy Hatcher in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates giving up pitcher Mike Roesler and nonroster infielder Jeff Richardson Roesler goes to the major league roster and Richardson moves from the Class AAA Nashville roster to the Pirates farm system Last year with Houston and Pittsburgh Hatcher 29 hit 231 with four home runs 51 RBI and 24 stolen bases His best season was 1987 when he hit 296 for Houston with 28 doubles 11 homers 63 RBI and 53 stolen bases The Kansas City Royals reduced their roster to 30 Tuesday by releasing outfielder Paf Sheridan and optioning pitcher Kevin Appier to Omaha Sheridan 32 spent parts of three seasons with the Royals in the mid-80s and split time last year between Detroit and San Francisco Frank Thomas the slugging first baseman who was the talk of the Chicago White spring training camp in Sarasota Fla was optioned to Class AA Birmingham Thomas was sent down after prolonging Monday 8-1 loss to the Texas Rangers with a pinch-single That made him nine for 17 with two homers and seven RBI for the spring The Shane Rawley experiment came to an abrupt end when the Boston Red Sox released the veteran left-hander and two other pitchers in their first major roster move While announcing the release of Rawley Rob Woodward and Steve Ellsworth Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman said the team would reassign five players td the minor league camp Tuesday bringing the major league roster total to 30 In other Red Sox news the team sent 38-year-old Dwight Evans to Massachusetts for a tests to diagnose problems with his back Joaquin Andujar who had hoped to make a major-league comeback at age 37 was released by the Montreal Expos Andujar was invited to training camp after an impressive performance in the senior league last fall He had not pitched in the majors since 1988 CACTUS REPORT Bass glad to bat second Kevin Bass has never batted second in his seven years in the big leagues He will this season with the San Francisco Giants and he wait to see the good pitches get hitting between Brett Butler and Will Clark the best hitter in baseball behind me how can I go Bass said Houston I was hitting fifth with not much hitting behind me saw a lot of breaking balls and pitchers have to come at me Hopefully I can be more aggressive with the Giants and see even more fastballs looking forward to hitting with these DAOS COUNTY open seven days A week Hurry Sale Ends April 10 1990 VISA HIALEAH Cor LeJeune Rd 62nd St 825 East 8th Avenue 884-2283 Open 6 9 NORTH MIAMI 196th Street 6 441 19601 2nd Avenue 652-0679 Open 71 1 HIALEAH Next to Winn Dixie 6502 West 4th Avenue 558-1082 Open 8-9 HOMESTEAO 1 Block No Kings Highway 30060 South Dixie Htohwav 248-4863 Open 8-9 KENOALLPERRINE Cutter Ridge 16600 South Dixie Highway 233-4378 Open 7-11 NORTH MIAMI 139th 8 West Dixie Highway 13995 West Cme ghway 895-2918 Open 8 9 ATTENTION GAMBLERS OR BINGO PLAYERS $1000000 "MUST GO" APRIL 21st PLAY IN WORLD'S FIRST $1000000 "MUST GO" GAME "BUY IN" $545 BE IN THE MOVIES! PARAMOUNT PICTURES NEEDS 1000 EXTRAS TO PLAY BINGO FOR 3 DAYS IN NEW MOVIE "ARRIVE ALIVE" AND WILL PAY $150 PLUS LUNCH AND TRANSPORTATION OR PLAY FOR $500000 "BUY IN" $249 OPA LOCKA Comer of 27th A 135th 13565 27th Avenue 681-3802 Open 8-9 CAROL CITY 2780 Northwest 183rd Street 825-5096 Open 8-9 WEST MIAMI 8th Street 65th Avenue 6520 Southwest 6th Street 267-0048 open 8-9 BROWARD COUNTY FT LAUDERDALE 1741 State Road 7 792-9686 Open 89 FT LAUDERDALE 3077 Broward Boulevard 581-0735 Open 8 9 FT LAUDERDALE 300 East Sunrise Boulevard 766-9804 Open 8-9 DEERFIELD BEACH 3420 Hillsboro Boulevard 898-6448 Open 8 9 OAKLANO PARK 1522 East Commercial Bfvd 772-9890 Open 8-9 OAKLANO PARK 2804 Oakland Park Bvd 485-7320 Open 8-9 OAKLANO PARK 777 East Oakland Park Blvd 563-1007 Open 8-9 POMPANO BEACH 1570 Northeast 36th Street 943-2750 Open 8 9 CORAL SPRINGS 7912 West Sample Road 752-4702 Open 8 9 WEST HOLLYWOOD 2921 South State Road f7 981-6452 Open 89 MARGATE 281 North State Road 7 974-9250 Open 8-9 HOLLYWOOD 509 North Slate Road 7 oei-AJs 9 NEW LOCATION MIAMI 2iOi Southwest 8th Street 849-4313 Open $-9 NORTH MIAMI 1 Block North 125th Street 12208 Northwest 7th Avenue 789-9951 Open 8-9 KENDALLMtAMI 8345 South Oixie Highway 863-1508 Open 8-9 NEW LOCATION HIALEAH 1005 East 49th Street 8812084 Open 8-9 MIAMI Bird Rd 8 SW 109th Ave 10901 Southwest 40th Street 221-8261 Open 8-9 MIAMI Mi West of LeJeune Rd 4360 Southwest 8th Street 448-1468 Open 8 9 TT FRST COME FIRST SERVE CALL 1-800-535-3436 For Details HE 4 4.